For 17 years, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties have battled on the football field for bragging rights in an annual all-star game that captured the attention of football fans across the country. This year, the volume of the game has been turned up and the stakes have never been higher.

This year, Miami-Dade County, which boasts more current athletes in the National Football league than any other county in the country, will take on the talented South Florida and Treasure Coast areas in the 18th Annual NIKE South Florida All-Star Football Game on December 23 at Miami's Traz Powell Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

"We have enjoyed 17 years of success with athletes from Dade and Broward participating,” said Frater, the founder and director of the event. “This year we aim to provide this same opportunity to student-athletes from Key West to the Treasure Coast.”

With “Ice” Harris directing the Miami-Dade squad, and Gray and Northeast head coach Donnell Bennett directing the South Florida team, this promises to be the best game ever.

“The athletic level of this year’s game has risen tremendously as athletes from football powerhouse such as Glades Central, Jupiter Christian, Palm Beach Gardens, Pahokee and other are now competing for county pride and college scholarships,” Frater pointed out. “We want to provide a stage for these athletes who all started youth football at the same time to finish their scholastic careers on one field, on one night in front of the entire South Florida community.”

The roster for the game will also be talked about for the first time on the show as many of the top stars from Jensen Beach to Homestead will take place in this unique showcase of SouthFlorida talent.

TURNING IT UP ON THE YOUTH FIELDS
As he does every week, Jonah Woullard from Generation Nexxt will join the show for his segment looking at the top players and teams who are still surviving in the youth playoffs across South Florida.

You can also catch the show on www.wqam.com. If you miss the show, you can check it out, along with several videos blogs and stories at http://sfhighschoolsports.com/

How does our forecast record stack-up with the statewide picks of others? A comparison appears below the conclusion of this week’s forecast.

Joe Pinkos’ Power Ratings are calculated by a formula based on strength of opposition and margin of victory with greater weight given to recent games. The forecasted margin of victory for each game is determined by subtracting the power rating of the lower-rated team from the power rating of its higher-rated opponent.

Game forecasts are sorted by classification of favorite and listed alphabetically. The underdog’s classification is noted for inter-classification games.

Season to-date, when picks differed, our selections have beat the Massey Ratings 159 of 258 times; we’ve topped the Laz Index 146 of 250 times for contests where forecasts differed; and bested the Freeman Ratings in 129 of 225 games.

November 07, 2011

Rankings, based on Joe Pinkos’ Power Ratings, of Florida’s top high school football teams overall and by classification.

FLORIDA’S POWER 25 listings show rank, team, record and classification in parentheses, and power rating. Rankings for each classification show rank, team, record in parentheses, and power rating.

Joe Pinkos’ Power Ratings are calculated by a formula based on strength of opposition and margin of victory with greater weight given to recent games. To determine the forecasted margin of victory between any two teams, simply figure the difference in the respective power ratings.